


Choke has two meanings.

by passionatelilo



Category: Harry Styles - Fandom, Louis Tomlinson - Fandom, One Direction, liam payne - Fandom, niall horan - Fandom, zayn malik - Fandom
Genre: Anal Sex, BDSM, Choking, F/M, Famous Harry Styles, Famous Zayn Malik, Fluff and Smut, Heartbreak, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, M/M, Mpreg, Non-Famous Liam Payne, Non-Famous Louis Tomlinson, mlm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-19 04:26:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29620572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/passionatelilo/pseuds/passionatelilo
Summary: Liam has just gone through an unfortunately rough breakup with his ex, Cheryl. - Trying to move on from it, Louis urges Liam to get a job, to which he does. However, Liam's new job now has him meeting someone he wish he never met.Or an AU in which Liam get's cheated on and somehow manages to become co-workers with his ex girlfriends new boyfriend.
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik/Liam Payne
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter 1

"You really need to, like, get a job or something, Liam. I'm sick of seeing you lying around on the couch all the time." Louis groaned, picking up multiple handfuls of crisp packets and empty coke cans which were lying on the ground next to the leather sofa. 

"Blah, blah, blah. I'm fine, Louis. I don't see the issue, I'm not bothering anyone." He retorted and Louis shook his head with a sigh. "You're bothering me, Liam. This is my house and I get that the break up with Cheryl was hard but you haven't left this couch in months. I mean, you haven't even had a shower or seen your own god damn kid for God's sake!"

"Jeez. Fucking hell. I've FaceTimed him and stuff. He's doing alright."

"Doing alright... He barely knows who you even are." 

Liam threw his arms up in frustration before rubbing his temple, "No. He does... He know's who I am."

"Fine. Alright. Whatever you say, Liam." Louis muttered, opening the curtains to let some light in. 

"My eyes, you bastard!" Liam complained, dramatically covering them and nuzzling his head against the pillow next to him. "Close them. Close them now."

"Go have a fucking shower, Liam. Get some clean clothes on, and go for a walk. When you get back, look for a job. Or something which you can do to pass the time because I'm not having you lay here and stuff your face with shitty, unhealthy food with Rick and Morty on the TV, 24-flipping-7."

"Fuck you, Louis." The younger boy seethed and ran upstairs, stomping on each step like a bratty teenager before stripping of his clothes and getting in the shower. He ran the water, which was admittedly rather cold and ran his hand through his hair, looking at his reflection in the small mirror which could be seen through the glass of the shower. "I look rough, bloody hell."

And it was the truth, Liam had just been through a breakup of a relationship that lasted multiple years of his life. He even had a kid with her for God's sake! It was all so tough on him, and it's not like he was prepared for this breakup - like at all. He was cheated on, and that shit fucking hurt and destroyed him. 

He didn't even know he was being cheated on. And he probably wouldn't ever have found out if he didn't, unintentionally, invade his ex's privacy to mute her phone after it constantly vibrated every two seconds at the god awful hour of 3am. (And let's just say, he was certainly not expecting to see messages from some random lad on there. That's for sure.)

He was angry and pissed off, to cut it short. And he woke Cheryl, his ex, up almost instantly. Lists upon lists of curse words falling from his mouth, he was heartbroken. He couldn't help it. There was a pain in his heart that physically hurt him, something he had never felt before. He really loved Cheryl, and perhaps he even still does. But in that moment he was just so upset he couldn't help the words that fell from his mouth, it was almost like every single other word he knew just disappeared. 

After that, he just left. He couldn't stand to be next to Cheryl any longer and maybe it was just Liam being dramatic but all he saw when he looked at her was the colour red. And not in a good way. 

He left and stayed at his mate, Louis' house. Louis welcomed him with open arms, of course, and he's just been there ever since, filling his face with everything he could and trying to replace the pain in his heart with something else. Because anything was better than the constant feeling of being punched repeatedly in the chest.

That leads Liam up to where he is now, shaving his overgrown beard and plucking his eyebrows with his towel hanging low on his hips.

"I need a haircut, I look like a lion, and that's not a good thing." He thought, sighing. He styled his hair and got changed into some skinny jeans, an oversized shirt and an unnecessary large amount of rings and chains. He even wore eyeliner, something he hasn't done in years. But he felt like he needed a change, and this was something. Maybe soon he would start wearing full makeup looks but he doubted it.

After walking out of the small bathroom, Liam made his way down the stairs, meeting Louis at the bottom who was, almost, definitely waiting for him. "Nice eyeliner."

Liam rolled his eyes, "I knew you were going to comment on it."

"All I did was say that it was nice. It suits you though. Perhaps you should wear it more often, Payno."

"I'll think about it..." He mumbled and left the house, taking a breath of fresh air. He parted his lips before shutting them tight, taking a look around. The appearance of the world around him has changed a lot since he last saw it. The leaves on the trees are no longer green and are in fact now a wide range of warm tones. It's even a bit chilly outside, perhaps he should have wore a jacket. 

He gently rubbed his hands together, creating some warmth between them and then continued to walk down to his local park, admiring the newly coloured leaves and the people around him. It felt weird being outside after so long and he wasn't sure if he liked it, he was almost positive that he was going to see her face at any given moment - but he didn't. 

Simply because after a quick scroll down Liam's Twitter timeline, it turns out she had just moved to the other side of the London with her new fancy, pop star of a boyfriend, Zayn Malik. 

"Twat." Liam grumbled and shoved his phone away.


	2. Two

"That's just great." Liam thought. A fucking pop star - Something he isn't and something that he'll never be because even though becoming a well known singer is one of Liam's many dreams, he knows full well that he will never reach the public eye with his singing because he would much rather hide away at home. Just like he has been doing. 

It all makes sense now though; he isn't rich so therefore he can't give Cheryl what she wants. That's why she cheated on him. Right? He isn't good enough. That's just it, it has to be! I mean it all made so much sense to him. 

She was a model and he stayed at home, scrolling down social media. The only job he had was doing the paper round - And he's been doing that ever since he was a teenager! That's why he was cheated on. It has to be. 

Sigh. He simply wasn't good enough. 

Liam sniffled and wiped away the tears which he didn't even realise were falling. He bets he looks a right, proper mess, his eyeliner is probably all smudged and running down his face. Everyone is probably secretly laughing at him, snickering with their mates. (At least that's what Liam thought, anyway.)

But In reality, no one could even care about what Liam was doing right now. London was just so busy and everyone was focused on their own things, such as the Dad who was a couple of metres away from Liam, teaching his child to ride a bike. "I should be doing that with my son." Liam thought, "I should be a better Dad..."

Which was partially the truth but Liam just couldn't help it. He didn't mean to be a bad Dad or anything, he loved his son - More than anything but seeing his son would mean that he had to see Cheryl again, and he doesn't know if he could take that with his current mental state. And it's not like he was ignoring his son all together, they called and even sent selfies to each other. 

"No." He said abruptly to himself. "I need to stop putting myself down, get my shit together and find an actual, well paying job, just like Louis suggested to me. That's what I need to be doing." He sighed and kicked a rock which was on the ground in front of him, watching it roll over and get lost in some grass at the side of the path. 

Letting out a deep breath, Liam took a look around, noticing a small pop-up shop by the exit which sold newspapers.  
"Perhaps that's a good place to start looking for jobs." He mumbled quietly to himself and then rather slowly, made his way over to it. 

Liam often didn't get newspapers so he didn't know which paper would be the best to get for what he wanted so he just bought himself one of London's well-known local ones before taking a seat on a cold wooden bench that was nearby. He put one leg over the other (He found doing that was rather comforting, even if it was stereotypically classed as a feminine thing to do.) and flipped to the jobs page, browsing it at a slightly less than moderate pace. 

Not knowing where to actually get started, he looked at the top left corner, grimacing at was written on the page. "Right. Let's see... Maid." He read out loud, finger next to the section which he was reading so that he didn't get lost within the big jumble of words. He shook his head. "Yeah. I don't exactly see myself in a maid outfit, on my knees, scrubbing the floor. Next..."

"Babysitter." He hummed, thinking about it and shook his head again, if he wasn't in the full mental state to look after his own son. What means he could look after other children? 

Ugh. Maybe he was right, this wasn't a good idea. None of these jobs seem appealing to him, I mean... 'Head cook' at his local pub? Yeah, no. Liam can't cook to save his life, last time he tried - He almost set his hair and kitchen on fire, which wasn't a good sight to see, that's for sure. (It was rather embarrassing.)

"Radio presenter for the BBC?"

Now, Liam actually quite liked the sound of that one. He loved music, and he certainly loved talking and discussing certain different pop topics. That was something he and Cheryl did often, with her being a model that's fairly big within the media. They had a lot of 'tea' to talk about and spill. 

It was definitely a good job option and he made sure to make note of it. He met all the requirements too, it was just perfect and the venue of the job was just down the road from his, well, Louis' house. It was well paying too, twenty quid an hour. That's way better than his usual minimum pay of £13 a day. 

However this was something he would have to talk to Louis about though. It's something they've done ever since they were very little - running important life decisions such as this one, passed each other. There was no exact reason as to why they did this, maybe it was the reassurance they got from it but it was something that they did and Liam wasn't going to stop doing it now. 

So he made his way home, stopping by Starbucks and getting his favourite order on the way. (It was nothing too impressive, just some frappe of the sort and a muffin. He even got Louis a little something, he felt that Louis deserved it after putting up with him slouching around his house for so long.) 

Although he did soon realise that maybe getting a frappe wasn't the best idea. If anything, it made his fingers extra numb in the icy weather. The frappe did taste amazing though and the muffin was still a little warm from how recently baked it was so he supposed that made up for it.


	3. Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If you would prefer to read this fic with inserted photos, for example of what the actual Instagram posts look like - My wattpad is passionatelilo.

Coming back, he entered the cozy, small house and made his way into the kitchen, meeting Louis who was hard at work at the dining table, writing different lesson plans down. "Hey, Louis... Got you starbucks."

"Thanks? I didn't ask for it though?" He said softly, taking it from Liam. 

"I know you didn't. But I know that's your usual order and I stopped by Starbucks on my way back so..." Liam rubbed Louis' shoulder and leaned against the kitchen counter. 

"Oh. Thank you, mate." He smiled, "Means a lot. I've just been doing some work... Did you start looking for a job like I suggested yet then? Or are you back on my couch for months?"

He rolled his eyes, "Yeah." He held the newspaper up, "Got this. Had some jobs in it."

"Found one you like?"

Liam parted his lips, nodding. "Yeah. I think I did. Radio presenter..." 

"Radio presenter?" Louis grinned, "Sounds like something you would be good at, maybe at one point you could become a podcast host too. I know you like talking an' that. Music too."

"Yeah. It's good pay too, maybe I could move out and get my own house. You know?"

"Perhaps but I'd miss you a whole lot though, Payno." Louis chuckled, pulling him into a hug. 

"I'd miss you too." He smiled and cuddled into him, pulling away from the hug. 

"Maybe you could even meet a new lass, yeah?"

"Yeah... Maybe. I don't know if I'm ready though. But we will see."

Louis gave him a warm smile and ruffled his hair, Liam grumbled and fixed it. "So. When are you applying, Li?"

"Dunno. Thought I'd see if you like the idea before I did anything else. You know, like we used to..."

"Ah, yes. The 'Don't make any big decisions unless the other passes it through and agrees with it.'" He chuckled, "I remember we made that when we were like eight, and at the time the only big decision we had was trading football cards. Pokemon ones too. You were obsessed with them, weren't ya?"

"I'll probably apply tomorrow then. And yeah, I still have them. Of course I do. I spent so much time and money on those." Liam hummed. 

Louis laughed. "Of course you do. Bet you even have your Toy Story teddy that your Mum bought you from build-a-bear when we were six." 

He blushed and nodded, "I actually do, somewhere. Think it's under my bed back at my Mum's house though. He's still there." 

"Aww. You'll have to bring him here one day, I miss it." Louis smiled fondly at him. "Alright. What do you want for tea? I'm thinking we order Pizza. What do you think? Dominos?"

"Dominos sounds great. I love pizza. Clifford does too, I can see him staring at us." Liam laughed softly and looked over at Clifford, Louis' dog. He was sat guarding his beloved ball. He loved that thing and he wouldn't let anyone have it or even go near him when he had it. It kept him quiet though so Louis and Liam didn't mind at all.

"He's always watching when it comes to food. I'll order our usual, yeah?" Louis said, ordering through the Dominos app on his phone. 

"Yeah. Can you get some of the cookies too? I like them from there." he asked, cheekily. 

"Mmm'kay. Ordered. It's on it's way." He put his phone away. 

"How much?"

"Don't worry, Li. I'll pay. You paid for our last takeaway, and the time before that, and I'm almost ninety-eight percent positive you paid for it the time before that too." 

Liam frowned, "But I feel bad because I'm staying here and using your wifi and electricity and stuff. All for free, I need to pay you back somehow. And Dominos isn't all that cheap."

"It's fine, lad. Stop worrying. Let's go watch footy. Donny's playing tonight and I'm nervous about the results."

"Alright..." He sighed and entered the living room, sitting on the sofa. Louis sat next to him and turned on the TV. He put on the usual sports channel and tapped the sofa next to him, Clifford jumping up and curling up next to them. He rested his head against Louis' thigh and shut his eyes. "Sleepy boy."

"He never does that to me, he hates me." Liam sighed dramatically. 

"Yeah cause you lay on the sofa and sleep all the time. And Liam? Don't roll your eyes at me again cause I can feel it coming."

Liam looked at him and rolled his eyes before smirking and laughing. 

"You bastard!" Louis laughed too, however he soon got interrupted by the sound of the match starting on the TV. "Fuck. It's starting."

"You're too invested in this footy shit, Lou."

"It's not shit. And I quite like it. It's my job, sort of, after all." He mumbled, more focused on the TV than anything. 

"Alright..." His stomach rumbled, "Ugh, can the food hurry up? My tummy is literally talking to me and telling me it needs food."

"It'll be here in a bit. Watch TV with me."

"Fineeeee." Liam cuddled against Louis, arms wrapped around him, Louis cuddled into his hold and they stayed like that until they got interrupted by the unnecessarily loud doorbell. 

"See, Liam. It's here, I told you it would arrive in a bit - I'll get it, keep the seat warm." He hummed and quickly got it, not wanting to miss the next goal. "Right. It's warm, be careful." He sat on the sofa and put it on the the coffee table in front of them, Liam taking a photo of it and uploading it to his Instagram. He then grabbed a slice and ate it, watching the match. 

"This is some fucking good pizza."

"I've had better." Liam complained, "My mum makes some amazing pizza."

"Yeah. I mean, my Mum made some good pizza too..." Louis said quietly and Liam pouted before engulfing him into a hug, the hold safe and protective. "...I love you, Lou."

"...Love you, Li. So much. Even though you're a twat sometimes and accidentally record your shitty cartoon shows over my football matches every single week, even though I leave sticky notes all over telling you to not record it."

Liam just chuckled. "What can I say? I love Rick and Morty."

"Child."


	4. Four

"Blah, blah. Whatever. Wanna take the spare bed tonight for once, mate?" Louis suggested, stretching. The football on TV ending, Doncaster Rovers winning. "Get in! We fucking won. Yes Lad!" 

"Cool." Liam smiled, "and I dunno, I'm growing quite fond of this sofa. I like it. It's my best friend now. Might even end up replacing you if you're not careful." he joked, sticking his tongue out. 

"Li. Grow uppppp." He rolled his eyes. "Do you want to sleep on it or not?"

"Louis. Why are you so mean to me?" He pouted, finishing his pizza, "First you called me a child, and now this - Telling me to grow up."

"Are you being serious? ...If being mean is calling you a child and telling you to grow up - Something I do every day. Then I must be a terrible, terrible. horrible, disgusting person. A piece of shit, if you must." Louis grinned, nuzzling his head against the younger boy. 

"You are, Lou. It's the truth." He yawned, rubbing his eyes. (Almost proving the point that he is, indeed, a child.)

"Sleepyhead. Child. Look at you, even rubbing your eyes. Just like children do."

"Mmhfh. Shut up, Louis. You're a twat, you know that right? This is why I'm your only friend."

"Oi. I have lots of mates, like Niall. Even though I haven't seen him in an extremely long time... He has a new girl now, so."Louis ruffled his hair, shaking his head fondly, "Go upstairs. To the spare room. You look tired." he rubbed his shoulder. 

"...Fine, and I am. I'm very tired. Thank you Captain Obvious. It's been a long day." He huffed, running a hand through his hair, rearranging the mess Louis caused from ruffling it. He took a look at himself in the mirror which was on the wall opposite the TV before making hoodie paws. 

"You've barely done anything, Li." He chuckled, "I suppose you did leave the house though... Anyway. Spare room is on the right as you walk up the stairs. I'm sure you knew that though. Sleeping in an actual bed might do your back some good because I'm sure this sofa isn't."

"Exactly. I left the house. And what did you do? Stay at home? Exactly." he laughed, "And I did know where it was but thanks Lou. See ya tomorrow, I guess."

"See ya, Payno. Sleep well then. Don't let the bed bugs bite, yeah? Oh. And don't be snoring either or I'll make a whole Instagram post about it to embarrass you." he teased. 

"Ugh. I bloody hope you don't have bed bugs. And I don't. I never snore. So you won't be doing that." Liam groaned and went upstairs to the room. It was a small room, the walls were painted an ugly shade of red and it was made very obviously for an office, However Liam didn't quite mind the colour of the walls because that was his favourite colour and the room was big enough for him. There was a bed in it and a set of draws, a mirror too. Perhaps it was even more than Liam needed as of right now. He was practically homeless. 

Getting in the bed, he took a sigh of relief. The bed was extremely comforting compared to the sofa, and you know what? Liam was actually rather excited to sleep in an actual bed, perhaps now he could sleep a whole night without waking up every other hour. (Something that happened often since the breakup.) 

It didn't actually take long for him to fall asleep, his day was exhausting compared to his usual days. Instead of consisting of laying on the sofa and watching television, it consisted of leaving the house and even having social interaction. Something that he hasn't done in a while. Not to mention how comfortable the bed was too, Louis sure did have a good taste in mattresses.

And yeah, perhaps he did snore. But how could he not? The bed was comfortable and for the first time in a while, he actually felt happy. He felt content and his mind didn't feel full and all over the place. 

The next morning, Liam woke up and cuddled into the blanket. Today was the day that Liam was going to apply for the job at the radio station, and if we're being honest, Liam hadn't applied for a job since he was a teenager so he had no actual clue on what he was supposed to do. He guessed he could just ask Louis, or even try looking at the BBC website but for now he just decided to just shrug it off and do something that he hadn't done in a while: have a wank. 

He wrapped his hand around himself, getting off and taking his time to do so. There was no rush to apply for the job, he had the majority of the day to do that. So he thought he’d make the most of the time he had now, especially as he has his own private room at the moment. 

Quickly changing his thoughts, he focused them on anything and everything other than the job. His eyes shut and soft noises and gentle gasps falling from his lips. He jutted his hips up against the duvet and tilted his head back, moving his hand faster before finishing all over his stomach. He relaxed his head against the pillow. 

“Fuck.” He mumbled to himself and caught his breath, looking at the time on his phone which was next to him: 9:32am. “That’s early?” He thought. He usually wakes up at 2pm latest. 

And there’s a text from Louis too? At this time?

‘Hey Li. R u awake?’


	5. Five

Okay. Maybe he was exaggerating about how early it was, any normal person would be awake at this time, but, well, this was early for Liam. Sort of. 

Unlocking his phone, he replied to Louis' text. 

Louis: Hey Li. R u awake?

Liam: Yeah. Just woke up. Why?

Louis: Just wondering if u were applying for that job today?

Liam: I think I’m going to. But I’m not sure how to actually apply for it. 

Louis: Check the website, there is probably something on there lol

Liam: Will do

Louis: Good luck!

Liam smiled. Louis was wishing him luck, that was all. God, he was just so thankful for Louis. He really was, Louis has been there for him his whole entire life, literally. He's Liam's best friend, (And maybe his only friend too, but that shouldn't matter.) and he's positive that Louis is going to continue being his best friend for many more years. He's even hoping that they stay friends forever but he knows that forever is an extremely long time so he doesn't want to get his hopes up. 

That's one thing about Liam, ever since the break up with Cheryl he doesn't want to get his hopes up about anything. Because he knows that in the end, everything is a waste of time and it doesn't turn out how you want it to turn out. He remember his Dad once told him 'Watch your chances, son. You've got one life and you want to live it, not waste it with stupid decisions and messy people.' and maybe he should have listened to him sooner - He wouldn’t be in this mess, and that now dull and faded ache in his heart wouldn’t have even been there in the first place. 

Although, this is all besides the point. Right now, Liam needs to apply for that job before the place gets taken by some other jobless person who runs their mouth at fifty miles an hour. He sighed and searched up the website, seeing an ‘APPLY HERE’ button in the corner. He clicked on it and ran a hand through his hair, filling in the basic details about himself such as his name, age and the current address of where he is living. 

He then moved onto a question titled ‘Why do you want this job? Make sure to include any other important question you feel necessary here too.’ And all of a sudden, he was lost. His brain went empty. Why did he actually want the job? That was a good question... To get his lazy ass off the couch? ...To get money to move out? ...Or did he want the job just to get a ‘lass’ like Louis suggested. I mean he can’t put any of that on the application, can he?

“Shit.” He thought, groaning quietly. 

He scrolled up and down the page before writing a bunch of bullshit, lying through his teeth about why he wanted the job. However, he quickly got rid of it. He didn’t want to lie. Imagine how embarrassing it would be if he turned up at the job and they thought that this was something he’s been wanting to do his whole entire life. 

Yeah... It would certainly be embarrassing. That’s for sure. Especially when they found out he was lying. He’d probably be fired on the spot too. 

Sighing, he sat down and seriously thought about it before writing, changing and editing it multiple times, “I’d like this job as I enjoy listening and creating my own music; music is one of my passions, though I know that I’ll never be able to put myself out there and although this is not what’s the job is about, I’m hoping that even though I can’t encourage myself to put my music out there on radios, that I can encourage other people to do it. 

I’m also a big fan of many famous musicians and know a lot of background on them; Ed Sheeran for example. He was born in Halifax but lives in Framlingham, Framlingham is the place in which he has lived his whole entire life. He created the majority of his first few EPs and albums there which he sold from his backpack to the people at his local pub. He soon decided to leave though and moved to London where he slept on couches, even some famous musicians couches. From that, he moved and released ‘The A Team’ which kick started his career. Another musician is Harry Styles - He’s from Cheshire and he auditioned on the X factor. He was in a band before that called ‘White Eskimo’. Knowing this information, I’d be able to ask them questions from the top of my head if and when interviewing them. 

Another thing that I like to do is talk, my friend, Louis, says that I’m the most talkative person he’s ever met and that I always have something to say and discuss. I’m not sure if this is a good thing but I know that as I have a lot to talk about, I’ll be sure to keep people entertained.”

He read it through one last time and sent it in, looking around the room. He didn’t really get to look at it last night as it was dark and the walls are definitely uglier than he thought they were. Maybe he should paint over them if he’s going to be living here for some time. He’d have to bring it up with Louis though. 

The view from the window was prettier than he thought it was. It had an amazing view of the street, and it wasn’t like the surrounding houses were ugly. Louis lived in the posher part of London so everything was pretty outside, all of the houses were lined up and connected together with trees outside of them with benches next to them. A large field in the middle of them all. 

It was very homely and definitely a safe environment. Liam could actually imagine bringing his own son up here but he doubted he could bring him up in a shared house with Louis. Maybe one day he could get his own house though, on the same street or area as Louis’. It would be cool, actually. He could definitely imagine seeing his own kids and maybe even Louis’ kids, if he ever has any, running around together and playing catch with a ball.


End file.
